eSports: NBA 2K League reveals schedule, season structure

With the draft for the NBA 2K League complete , more questions are being answered regarding the logistics of how the esports competition featuring "NBA 2K18" will be handled. The teams will begin play with a tournament on May 1, while the regular season will tip off May 11.

Not only will the players be paid a salary and receive benefits under their six-month contracts, they'll also have the opportunity to win more money over the course of the season.

Three different tournaments will be held with prize pools of either $100,000 or $150,000. The eventual winner of the NBA 2K League Championship will receive $300,000 split between the six team members with another $300,000 distributed to participants from the other seven playoff teams. In total, $1 million is being handed out for this season of the NBA 2K League.

NBA 2K League Schedule

Tip-Off Tournament (May 1-5)

Week 1 Matchups (May 11-12)

Week 2 Matchups (May 18-19)

Week 3 Matchups (May 25-26)

Week 4 Matchups (June 1-2)

Tournament (June 8-9)

Week 5 Matchups (June 15-16)

Week 6 Matchups (June 22-23)

Week 7 Matchups (June 29-30)

Week 8 Matchups (July 6-7)

Tournament (July 13-14)

Week 9 Matchups (July 20-21)

Week 10 Matchups (July 27-28)

Week 11 Matchups (Aug. 3-4)

Week 12 Matchups (Aug. 10-11)

Playoffs Quarterfinals (Aug. 17)

Playoffs Semifinals (Aug. 18)

NBA 2K League Finals (Aug. 25)

The regular season of competition will consist of only 14 games with the tournaments being handled separately. Start times for games and schedules for each of the 17 teams have yet to be provided, but they will have "staggered game windows to provide convenient viewing for both domestic and international audiences."

For the postseason, the quarterfinals will be single elimination while the semifinals and NBA 2K League Finals are best-of-three series.

Bryan Wiedey posts sports gaming news and analysis daily at Pastapadre.com, is the co-founder of the sports gaming site HitThePass.com, hosts the "Press Row Podcast" and can be reached on Twitter @Pastapadre .